Friday, January 31, 2014

Snack Attack

I think that the worst of the pregnancy sickness has passed. I still feel a bit awful in the evenings, close to vomiting, but I haven’t actually lost my lunch (or dinner) in a couple of weeks now. That’s progress, I say. But I have noted that the days seems to be split into two very different feelings with regard to my stomach and energy level: in the morning, as long as I eat immediately after waking, I feel pretty good and have moderate energy, but I am hungry all the time, right up until I eat something lunch-ish around 11 am. In the afternoon, I am sluggish and tired and I am hungry, but I don’t want to eat because nothing tastes good.

So, I have a snack problem. In the morning, I snack on almonds, craisins, apple slices, grapefruit, bananas, and crackers with peanut butter. In the afternoon, with a sour stomach, I know I need to snack, but I don’t like the sound of anything. And I need to make healthy choices. I’m trying to keep my sodium intake down to keep my blood pressure under control, so even though massive amounts of Pirate’s Booty taste delicious all the time, I am abstaining as much as possible (which is to say that when I have finished the Costco-sized bag, I don’t immediately run out and buy another. I wait a few days. For the health of the baby, you know).

At dinner, meat usually sounds awful, but I’ve noticed that I feel sicker on the nights when I have less protein. For example, I made French onion soup last night (complete with croutons and gruyere) and I ate salad with it. Everyone else had ham with their dinner and a lot of bread and butter. I felt hungry for the rest of the night, in a really queasy way, and ended up eating Tums (*shudder*) and spoonfuls (spoonsful?) of peanut butter to calm things down.

What do you snack on? What, if you have ever been pregnant, did you most like snacking on? What did you snack on if you have ever had heartburn so badly that the mere thought of chips and salsa makes you cringe (even though they’re delicious – such a cruel state, pregnancy!)? I need to eat something in the afternoons that will help increase my energy, not drag me down. Something like almonds or peanut butter, but not those things because I already eat a lot of those.

My dad and brother are going to the Super Bowl and for them, it will be at 6:30 pm. Super weird, right? My whole life, with the exception of when I lived in France and the Super Bowl was at 1 am, the Super Bowl has been at 3:30 pm. Eating football-game-watching food all afternoon long could either be a revelation or could be disastrous for me. I’ll either feel great from constant food intake or terrible from constant food intake, especially during my usual naptime. Anyone want to bet on it?

2 comments:

Healthy pregnancy snacks that were palatable for me included plain yogurt with thawed frozen berries and a touch of brown sugar. I'd pack it in the morning and by mid morning it would be kinda slushy. Sounds weird, but delicious. Also: hummus & pretzels, graham crackers, fruit. rotisserie chicken and chocolate milk. Not all together. :)

I almost always had peaches with cottage cheese as a daily snack with my last pregnancy. Also liked Mt. Hood trail mix and cheese sticks. I remember the horrible heart burn issues and am so glad they go away as soon as the baby is born. Good luck!